Insights into the production technology of north-Mesopotamian Bronze Age pottery

Abstract

With the aim of contributing to the knowledge of north-Mesopotamian Bronze Age pottery production (3rd millennium BC, early Dynastic and early Akkadian period), the mineralogy of pottery excavated from the site of Tell Beydar (Syria) has been studied in order to make inferences concerning the clay preparation and firing techniques of that period. The fired pottery finds have been classified by archaeologists into three distinct groups on the basis of their aesthetic and visual appearance and their mechanical strength: standard, cooking and “metallic” ware.

SR X-ray powder diffraction data have been collected from 100 individual shards as well as from local clays and one unbaked object, an inscribed tablet. The XRD data is supplemented by SEM-EDS, XRF and polarising microscopy studies of 200 polished thin sections. The synthesis of the results from this extensive study quantifies the basic physical characteristics of the ensemble: the standard ware required no specific clay preparation and firing procedures. The body of the cooking ware contains large inclusions which result in a body texture intended to make them resistant to repeated thermal cycles. Both standard and cooking ware are made of a calcareous clay, typical of pottery from the Middle East. The metallic ware, however, are of a much finer quality with a distinctly different mineralogy than the other two groups.